Pneumatic ticket distributing system



Aug. 9, 1938. N. HAMPTON El AL PNEUMATIC TICKET DISTRIBUTING SYSTEMFiled July 7, 1936 IN [/5 N TORS L.N.HAMP7'0/V AK SM/I H t/ %(acATTORNEY Patented Aug. 9, 1938 PATENT OFFICE PNEUMATIC TICKETDISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Leon N. Hampton, New York, N. Y., and Albert K.Smith, West Orange, N. J., assignors to Bell Telephone Laboratories,Incorporated,

New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 7, 1936, SerialNo. 89,282

Claims.

This invention relates to ticket distributing systems and moreparticularly to pneumatic ticket receiving valves of the type used inticket distributing systems in telephone exchanges and the like.

The ticket receiving valve with which the invention is particularly welladapted for use is disclosed in Patent 1,982,805 to L. N. Hampton et a1.dated December 4, 1934. In this ticket receiving valve, ticket carryingtubes intersect in a casing adjacent the contacting surface of tworollers between which the tickets pass for delivery into a chute to bereceived by the operator. The ends of the sending tubes are perforatedfor permitting the air to pass into a common tube having one of its endsconnected with the roller casing and its other end connected to anexhaust-- er provided for generating a current of air in the ticketsending tubes for propelling the tickets therein from so-called ticketsending valves to the ticket receiving valve with a cut-off valveconnected to the commontube for controlling the air flow and thereby thetraveling speed of the tickets in the sending tubes, a handle beingprovided for independently operating the air outoff valve for causingair impulses in the ticket sending tubes when a blockade of ticketsoccurs in one of the tubes so as to force such tickets into the casingto be delivered through the action of the rollers.

A blockade of tickets is indicated by an alarm arrangement comprising apneumatic gauge which is balanced to normal ticket tube operatingpressure so that when a blockade develops the pressure balance isdisturbed and this causes the energization of the alarm circuit. Whenthe alarm indicates a blockade, as by the operation of an ordinaryringer, the maintenance man proceeds to the frame on which the blockadealarm relays are mounted in order to ascertain which of the tubes isobstructed. He then proceeds to the receiving. valve to which theblockaded tube is connected and moves the cut-01f valve to its closedposition so as to prevent the flow of air through these tubes andthereby preventing further insertion of tickets in the sending tubes.Considerable time, however, is required by this procedure and frequentlya great number of tickets are dispatched during the delay between ing asa result of the unbalanced air pressure in the ticket sending tubes, aswhen a blockade of tickets occurs in any one of these tubes, causes thecut-01f valve to be closed by means of a solenoid which is connected ina blockade alarm circuit for preventing further introduction ordispatching of tickets into the tubes. A lamp signal and a ringer deviceare energized in conjunction with the operation of the cut-off valve forindicating which of the sending tubes is ob. structed, with meansprovided for cutting off the ringer from its operating circuitindependently of the operation of the lamp signal, and a plurality ofmeans in the form of thermostats, which are energized under control ofthe pneumatic gauge, are provided to cause a time delay in the operationof the cut-01f valve upon certain pressure difference in the ticketsending tube which may occur independently of the ticket blockades.

Other novel features and advantages of the invention will appear fromthe following description and by the claims appended thereto, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is an assembly View showing a number of operating parts insection, the cut-off valve being shown in the normal open position;

Fig. 2 is a top view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a circuit for the automatic control ofthe cut-off valve of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the ticket receiving valve showing theends of the ticket sending tubes and the exhaust tube attached to theeasing, the casing being shown partly in section.

As shown in Fig. 4, the ticket receiving valve to which the invention isparticularly well adapted for use consists of a casing llll combined soas to form a ticket receiving chamber and to house a pair of parallellydisposed rollers RI and R2, driven by a gearing mechanism, not shown,itself driven by a motor I46. The operation of rollers RI and R2 iseffective to drive the tickets through a chute CH in casing H0.

On casing H0 is mounted a casing portion 51 into which the ticketsending tubes 59' and Gil extend for guiding the tickets as Ti shown inFig. 1, which have been introduced in the tubes 59' and 60 at thesending stations not shown.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing the cut-off valve consists of acasting Ill formed with two coaxially disposed openings II and i2 and anopening l3 disposed thereacross to be closed by a butterfly M in amanner and for a purpose which will be hereinafter described in detail.

A bushing 6! has one of its ends secured to the casing portion 51 and isconnected at its other end to the cut-off valve casting III by jointplates I3 and I4 secured together by a number of bolts I5. The commonair exhaust tube I6 is connected at one end to the top end portion ofcasting I0 by joint plates I1 and I8, in turn, secured together by boltsI9 and 26, the other end of tubing I6 being connected to an exhauster,not shown, provided for generating an air flow in the ticket sendingtubes 59' and Figs. 1, 3 and 4, for propelling the tickets into theticket receiving chamber for delivery through the chute CH by theoperation of the rollers RI and R2, the air passing through a series ofholes in the ends of the ticket sending tubes 59' and 60' and enteringthe air exhaust tube I6 in a path indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, andhence through the openings and I2 in casting I0, Fig. 1 the area ofwhich may be adjusted by the operation of the butterfly M in the opening|3 so as to control the flow of air through the common air exhaust tubeI6 as will be hereinafter described in detail.

The butterfly I4 is securely mounted on one end of a rotatable shaft 22journaled in bearing portions 23 and 24. These bearing portions areformed integrally with the casting portion I8 and on the other end ofshaft 22 is securely mounted a worm gear 25 engaging the screw threadedend portion of a plunger member 26. This plunger is supported at its topend in a bearing portion 21 secured to the casting portion I0 by screws28 and 29 as shown in Fig. 2 and its other end in the tubular core 36 ofa solenoid 3| which is mounted in a housing 32 held securely on thecasting ID by a number of screws 33.

Plunger 26 is held in normal non-operated position by a retractilespring 34 having one of its ends abutting against the shoulder portionof the plunger and its other end against a washer at the end of anadjustable screw 35 engaging the interiorly threaded portion 36 ofcasing 32. This end of plunger 26 is of square cross-section and fits ahole in the screw 35 and a similarly shaped hole in a hub or knob 31,the latter being normally held against rotary movement by a clampingscrew 38 engaging the casing 32 and thereby normally holding the plunger26 and the butterfly I4 in adjusted position. A knob 39 which is securedat the extreme end of plunger 26 by pin 46 is' provided formanually'moving this plunger axially against the resistance ofretractile spring 34 for rotating the worm gear 25 and thereby operatingthe valve I4 in chamber I3.

The valve I4 may also be rotated in the chamber I3 through the rotationof plunger 26 for adjusting the speed of the air flow in the ticketsending tubes 59' and 60 through the manual rotation of knob 39 or hub31 upon the loosening of the clamping screw 36.

The ticket sending tubes 59' and 66 as shown in Fig. 3 are connected atpoints adjacent their receiving ends to an air chamber having a commonwall in the form of a diaphragm 45 which operates upon a certainpressure difference in the ticket sending tubes for closing one of thecontacts 46 and 41 as the case may be for causing the operation of thesolenoid 3| and thereby the operation of the cut-off valve or butterflyI4.

The unbalance of air pressure in tubes 59 and 60', as when a ticket or aplurality of tickets are stopped in one of the tubes, causes themovement of diaphragm 45 in a direction to close one of its associatedcontacts, for example, contact 46, completes the heating circuit of athermal switch TS through the conductor 48, the rear side of armature49, the conductor 50, the heating element 5| to battery and ground. Theoperation of thermal switch TS after a predetermined period of timecauses the energization of magnet 52 through an operating circuitincluding ground 53, contact 46, conductor 54, thermal switch TS,conductor 55, magnet 52 to battery and ground. The operation of magnet52 attracts its armatures 56, 49 and 58 thus closing the operatingcircuit of solenoid 3| through a circuit including ground 53, contact 46of the pneumatic relay, conductor 48, contact of armature 58, manualswitch 59 in the closed position, conductor 66 and the winding ofsolenoid 3| to battery and ground.

The solenoid 3| is energized for operating the plunger 26 against thetension of its retractile spring 34 and thereby rotates the butterfly I4through the engagement of the worm portion of plunger 26 with worm gear25 and closes the common tube I5 for preventing the flow of air in theticket sending tubes and therefore the conveyance of tickets in thesesending tubes. The energization of solenoid 3| attracts the auxiliaryarmature I66 for closing contact 6| and thereby completing its holdingcircuit.

The closure of the contact by the operation of armature 58 alsocompletes the operating circuit of a ringer device 62 and a lamp 63 thusreadily indicating to the maintenance man that a ticket blockade in thesending tube 59 has occurred. The operation of armature 56 closes alocking circuit for magnet 52 through ground 53, contact 46, conductors54 and 43, contact of armature 56, winding of magnet 52 to battery andground so that the breaking of the circuit of heating element 5| whenarmature 49 is operated with the consequent return movement of thermalswitch TS to normal, the magnet 52 remains energized as long as contact46 remains closed due to the unequal air pressure in the sending tubes59' and 65.

The ringer 62 may be disconnected from the signal circuit by manuallyoperating the switch 64 and both the ringer 62 and the lamp 63 may bedisconnected collectively by the operation of the switch key 59, themagnet 3| remaining energized as above mentioned through its lockingcircuit closed at the contact 6| when the auxiliary armature I60operates.

Upon the clearing of the blockade in the tube 59, and thereestablishment of the balance in the air pressure in the ticket sendingtubes 59 and 60, the contact 46 is broken through the operation ofdiaphragm 45 while the manual operation of auxiliary armature I66 breaksthe contact 6|, causing the deenergization of magnet 3| and the plungermember 26 is returned to normal under the tension of spring 34 formoving the butterfly to its open adjusted position and therebypermitting the flow of air in the common tube, thus reestablishing theoperating condition of the ticket sending tubes.

Similarly a ticket blockade in the ticket sending tube 60 will cause theoperation of the diaphragm 45 for closing the contact 47 and therebyenergizing the thermal switch ST2. The operation of this switch closesthe energizing circuit of magnet 65 for operating the alarm ringer 65and signal lamp 68 simultaneously with the energization of solenoid 3|,the movement of plunger 26 operating the butterfly I4 and therebypreventing the flow of air to the ticket sending tube 68 as abovedescribed in connection with the ticket sending tube 59'.

In the course of clearing a ticket blockade in one of the sending tubesif it is desired to operate the butterfly M in quick succession as tocause air impulses in the ticket sending tubes, contact M is opened fordeener-gizing the magnet 31 thereby permitting the reciprocatingmovement 01' plunger 26 and that of the butterfly l4.

Thus by the operation of the alarm ringer, together with the operationof the signaling lamp, the maintenance man has positive indication as towhich of the sending tubes is obstructed by tickets and may control theoperation of the ringers and the lamps through the operation of keys 59and 69, as the case may be, while the automatic operation of thebutterfly prevents the conveyance of tickets in such blockaded sendingtubes immediately and simultaneously with the operation of the alarmringer and the lamp signal, thus improving such ticket distributingsystems both from an operating and economic standpoint.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pneumatic ticket distributing system, the combination with ahousing, a plurality of ticket sending tubes having their receiving endsconnected to said housing and an air exhaust tube connected to saidhousing, of a valve connected to said exhaust tube and having an elementoperable for controlling the flow of air in the ticket sending tubes, asolenoid for operating said element, a pneumatic relay having a pair ofcontacts and a movable member, said member being operable upon apressure difference in said sending tubes for engaging either one ofsaid contacts for causing the energization of said so lenoid, theoperation of said element interrupting the air flow in the ticketsending tubes for preventing the conveyance of the tickets there- 2 In apneumatic ticket distributing system, the combination with a pluralityof ticket sending tubes, and a housing connected to the receiving end ofsaid tubes, of a valve connected to said housing and having a movableelement for controlling the flow of air in said tubes, a solenoid, amovable armature for said solenoid, a gear actuated by said armature, ashaft for said gear operatively connected to said element, a pneumaticrelay, said relay comprising a pair of contacts, a yieldable member forengaging one of said contacts upon a pressure difierence in said sendingtubes, thermal switches energized upon the operation of each of saidcontacts, and magnets energized upon the operation of each of saidswitches for causing the operation of said solenoid.

3. In a pneumatic ticket distributing system,

the combination with a plurality of ticket sending tubes and a housingconnected to the receiving end of said tubes, a valve connected to saidhousing having a movable element for controlling the flow of air in saidtubes, a solenoid, a movable armature for said solenoid, a gear actuatedby said armature, a shaft for said gear operatively connected to saidelement, a pneumatic relay having a pair of contacts and means operatingupon a pressure difference in said ticket sending tubes for engagingsaid contacts, thermal switches energized upon the operation of each ofsaid contacts, magnets energized upon the operation of each of saidthermostats for causing the operation of said solenoid, a plurality ofalarm devices responsive to the operation of each of said magnets, and aplurality of manually operable switching means for controlling theoperation of said alarm devices.

4. In a pneumatic ticket distributing system, the combination with ahousing, a plurality of ticket sending tubes having their receiving endsconnected to said housing and a common tube connected to said housing,of a valve connected to said common tube having an element operablycontrolling the flow of air in the ticket sending tubes, a solenoid foroperating said element, a pneumatic device, a pair of contacts in saiddevice disposed to be engaged selectively upon a pressure difference inthe sending tubes, thermal switches, circuits connecting each of saidcontacts to each of said switches, electromagnets, circuits for saidelectromagnets energized upon the operation of the switches asdetermined by the operation of said device, alarm devices, sets ofcontacts actuated by the operation of each of said magnets, circuitsconnecting the last-mentioned contacts to said alarm devices foractuating them simultaneously with the energization of said solenoid foractuating said valve.

5. In a pneumatic ticket distributing system, the combination with acasing, a plurality of ticket sending tubes connected at their receivingends to the casing, and a common air tube connected to the casing, of avalve connected to said common tube having an operable element, apneumatic relay connected to the receiving tubes, said relay comprisinga pair of contacts and a movable member operable upon a pressuredifference in the ticket sending tubes for closing said contacts, asolenoid for operating said element, and thermal switches responsive tothe closure of said contacts by said movable member for causing theoperation of said solenoid a predetermined lapse of time after theclosure of said contacts.

LEON N. HAMPTON. ALBERT K. SMITH.

